The Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has been named the recipient of the Muslim News Nigeria Transformational Leadership Award 2025 in recognition of his exceptional, people-centred governance and far-reaching impact in public service.
The award is an initiative of Muslim News Nigeria designed to honour Muslim leaders whose conduct in government and public life brings pride to the Ummah while contributing meaningfully to national development.
In a statement signed by the Publisher, Rasheed Abubakar, on Thursday, the newspaper said Governor Zulum emerged after a sustained editorial assessment of his leadership trajectory since assuming office in 2019.
According to the statement, the Award reflects Professor Zulum’s transformational leadership style, defined by courage, accountability, compassion, and uncommon dedication to rebuilding lives and institutions in one of Nigeria’s most conflict-affected states.
“This nomination follows our sustained editorial assessment of Your Excellency’s leadership since your assumption of office in 2019. Muslim News Nigeria has consistently followed and documented your people-centred approach to governance, particularly your hands-on response to security challenges, the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and the rebuilding of critical infrastructures in communities devastated by terrorism and insurgency,” the statement read.
Abubakar noted that Governor Zulum has distinguished himself through frontline leadership, often personally visiting volatile and hard-to-reach communities to assess conditions, supervise projects, and engage directly with residents, security agencies, and traditional institutions. This approach, the organisation said, has helped rebuild public confidence in governance and strengthened cooperation between the government and local communities.
He further highlighted his administration’s deliberate shift from long-term displacement to dignity-driven recovery, with thousands of internally displaced persons resettled from camps into rebuilt communities, supported with housing, livelihood tools, food assistance, healthcare access, and educational opportunities.
Under his leadership, Borno State also recorded significant progress in education, with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools destroyed by insurgency, recruitment of teachers, and renewed emphasis on girl-child education.
Similarly, the government has invested heavily in healthcare, constructing and upgrading hospitals and primary healthcare centres across urban and rural areas to improve access for vulnerable populations.
